Improvement in double-barreled breech-loading fire-arms



W. H ELLIOT.

Breech-Loading Fire-Arm.

Patented Aug. [6. 1864.

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N. PETERS, FNOTO-LITHOGRAFHER, WASHINGTON, D C.

ll iT-En I STATES PAT NT @FFICE.

\VM. H. ELLIOT, OF PLATTSBURG, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN DOUBLE-BARRELED BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 43,8 fl0, dated August 16, 1851.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WM. H. ELLIOT, of Plattsburg, in the county of Clinton, in the State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Double Breech-Loading. Fire-Arm; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

Similar letters of referenceindicate the same devices in all the figures. To enable others skilled in the arts to comprehend, make, and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its nature, construction, and operation.

The nature of my invention consists in so constructing and operating a double breeohloading arm that while one chamber is being opened and charged the other is kept closed by the breech-piece; in so constructing the center-pin and its fastenings that the joint may readily be taken apart; and in so arranging and operating the locking-bolt,in connection with the stop,thatthe barrels are locked in'each lateral position while being loaded; and also in providing cams or recoil-faces which tighten the joint when in a position to be fired, but leave it loose when turned upon either side. They also serve to relieve the center-pin from the strain of the recoil.

Figure 1 is an elevation of my improved arm without the stock, a portion of the breechpicce being broken away to show the limbwork. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the rear end of the barrels. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the forward end of the breech-piece. Fig. 4 is a section of the barrels at the dotted line 20. Fig 5 is an elevation of a shell-discharger. Fig. 6 is an elevation of the forward end of the center-pin.

a a is the breech-piece; b, barrels; c, center-pin; d, collar; d, shoulder upon which the collar rests; e, screw for holding the collar; f, stop; f, groove in the center-pin to receive the stop; 9 and g, hammers; g, openings in the breech-piece through which the hammers strike the cartridge; h, trigger; 7;, stirrups; 7c, mainsprings; Z, guard; m, locking-lever between the hammers, mostly shown in dotted lines; m, nose of locking-lever; m", notch in the rear end of the barrels, by which the locking-lever holds them in the central position; a, shell-discharger; 0, projection on the same, which takes hold on the rim of the cartridge-shell; p, thumb-piece of the discharger; r, collar; 8, spring; t, pin against which the spring acts; a, spring of locking-lelever; 12 and c, cams or recoil-faces; as, notches in the rear end of the barrels to receive the nose of the locking-lever.

. My improvement relates to that kind of 7 arm which has a rolling joint, by which" the barrel or chamber maybe turned upon one side of the breech-piecefor the purpose of being loaded. In my improved arm I employ two barrels and two shell-dischargers so arranged in relation to the breech-piece that by turning them upon either side one of the chambers is opened, and also one of the shell-dischargers is brought out from before the breech-piece. In this position the chamber may receive a cartridge, or an empty shell may be thrown out by the discharger, the barrel being held stationary during the operation by thelockinglever m, acting in conjunction with the stop f. One barrel is loaded and the shell discharged upon one side of the breech-piece, and the other barrel is loaded and its shell discharged upon the other side.

For convenience in packing the gun in a small space, it is so constructed as to be taken apart at the joint; and for the purpose of having the joint of the arm tight when in a position to be fired, and loose in all other positions, and also for the purpose of relieving the cen ter-pin as much as possible from the strain of the discharge, I employ one or more cams or recoil-faces between the rear end of the barrels and the breech-piece.

The operation of my improved arm is as follows: To load, press down upon the rear end of the locking-lever m with the thumb of the right hand, and turn the barrels upon one side till the motion is stopped by the point of the stop f striking against the end of the groove f in the center-pin. In this position the nose of the locking-lever falls into one of the notches x and holds the barrels stationary while a cartridge is being inserted. When the barrel is loaded, press upon the lever, as before, and turn the barrels upon the other side of the breech piece, in which position it will be locked, and the other barrel may then be loaded. WVhen both barrels have been loaded, they may be brought to the central position, when they will be locked by the bolt or lever m. While in this position the faces of the cams'o rest against each other.

It is obvious that any power applied at the chambers to separate them from the breechpiece, like that of a discharge, would tend to bring the faces of the cams together with a corresponding force, the collar d and projection d serving as a fulcrum; and for the purpose of relieving the collar and screw d e from the strain as much as possible I employ the cams,which represent weight, and place them as far from the fulcrum as the shape of the arm will permit.

Theright chamber is opened for the purpose of loading or discharging the shell by rolling the barrels to the right, and the left one by rolling them to the left; so that while one chamber is opened for the purpose of loading the other chamber remains closed as perfectly by the breech-piece as it is at the moment of firing. This prevents the loss or displacement of a cartridge from one chamber while the other is being loaded an accident to which all fixed ammunition is liable, and particularly the kinds I employ in this armviz., that which is in common use, and known as Smith 8; Wessons.

By loading one chamber on the right and the other on the left of the breech-piece the chamber which is not being loaded is always closed by the breech-piece, which would not be the case if both chambers were loaded on the same side of the breech-piece.

In addition to the security thus afforded by the peculiar construction and operation of my arm against the displacement or loss of the cartridge while loading, a similar advantage is obtained while firing the arm. At the moment of such firing the chamber which is not intended to be discharged is effectually closed by the breech-piece, so that no injury would be likely to result from any accidental discharge; whereas if the chamber not intended to be discharged were left uncovered at its rear end at the moment of firing, an accidental discharge would be highly dangerous.

Several'other important advantages are obtained by the peculiar construction and operation of my armsuch as compactness, strength, durability, and facility of opening. and closing the ehambers-whieh could not be had in a double barreled breech loading arm constructed on any other plan.

When loaded, the arm may be cocked and fired in the usual way.

To'discharge the shells after firing, the bar rels have to be turned upon one side and the shells pushed out by means of the shell-discharger n, the finger being applied to the thumb-piece p. As the shell is pushed out the spring S is depressed, and when the discharger is released from the pressure of the finger the spring draws it to its place in the end of the barrels.

To separate the gun into two parts for the purpose of packing, the stop f must first be removed, and then by turning the barrels bottom side up they may be drawn off from the center-pin. By reference to Fig. 2 it may be seen that the projection d, which holds the joint together, extends only half around the center-pin hole upon the upper side, and in Figs. 3 and 6 the collar d is shown extending only half around the center-pin, also upon the upper side; \Vhile the collar is in front of the projection, as it must always be when the barrels are right side up, the joint cannot be taken apart; but when the projection d is turned upon the lower side of the center-pin the collar readily passes by it.

Fig. 4 represents a section of the barrels and center-pin at a convenient point for showing the operation of stop f. The center-pin has a deep groove, f, cut partly around it. The point of stop f passes into this groove, and when the barrels are turned upon the center-pin the stop comes in contact with the end of the groove, and thus limits the motion of the barrels at the proper point for loadmg.

I make no claim to constructing an arm with a single barrel, so that it may be turned upon one side of the breech-piece upon a center-pin for the purpose of being loaded; but

WVhat I do claim, and desire to have secured to me by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. So constructing the joint of the arm that while in a proper position for firing it holds the barrel and breech-piece firmly together, but when the barrel or barrels are'turned over they readily separate, as and for the purpose herein set forth.

2. The employment of stop f, in combination with locking-lever m, forloeking the barrels in the lateral positions, as and for the purpose herein specified.

3. The employment of one or more cams, b, in combination with the center-pin c, as and for the several purposes herein set forth.

W. H. ELLIOT.

Witnesses:

M. LEwIs,

W. H. THOMAS. 

